Page 204 - DEDU502_GUIDANCE_AND_COUNSELING_ENGLISH

Guidance and Counseling

Notes Value judgements of right and wrong are not as well defined for the child in grade 6 as they were
in grade 4. This seems to be the age when the child develops some tolerance and the ability to see
things as gray rather than as black or white.

Research shows that children exhibit every conceivable combination and variation in
their growth patterns. Some grow at the same rate in all four areas, while others grow
unevenly. Children may show rapid physical development with slow mental development.

19.2 Counseling the Elementary School Child

It is a common observation that children are happy and often ignorant about the problems of
adjustment. They are usually enthusiastic and can become interested in things easily but their interests
do not last long. Besides the home, the school engages them for most part of their waking lives. If
the school experiences are unpleasant, it could be most unfortunate for the child. Counseling
elementary school children involves helping them with their learning problems and making their
experiences at school enjoyable and engaging. The major aim of counseling at this level is the
prevention of emotional breakdowns. Children have problems of adjustment as they pass through
a transitional stage of being the centre of the scene in their homes to being in a state of anonymity
in the classrooms. The warmth and affective relations which are so vital at home are absent in the
school and this sense of loss of importance may make them feel disappointed with the school. There
could also be problems of learning if the curricular materials are not adjusted to the child’s abilities.
There could be problems involving other pupils and these may lead to bullying by a few and by a
lot more of the children. It is increasingly recognized that many emotional problems experienced by
people later in life can be traced to childhood years. Early identification and alleviation, if not
elimination, of emotional problems will go a long way towards ensuring the healthy development
of children into useful citizens.

19.3 Role of the Teacher in Counseling

The interrelation between Counseling and instruction in the educational process emphasizes the
key role of the teacher in guidance. The teacher is uniquely responsible for the climate of learning
in which the class as a group, and each pupil as an individual in the group, finds opportunity for
learning and for personal development.
“The school must be conceived of as the setting for learning experiences, and everything which
helps to make that setting educational is a concern of the teacher.” Teachers affect the lives and
personalities of children, and thier influence goes far beyond the academic area and what can be
measured by achievement tests.
“If the teacher will accept each pupil as he is, with all his strengths and weaknesses, and will help
him to improve where he needs to improve, the teacher will have many opportunities to help pupils
understand and accept themselves and to aid them in defining reasonable life goals—two major
aims of guidance. He may also influence the attitudes and feelings which contribute to making
independent choice either easy or difficult.”

19.3.1 The Teacher Studies Children
Child study is a basic guidance function and is accomplished through the use to both formal
methods involving tests and cumulative records and informal methods based upon observations of
the pupil in his classroom and in other settings.
The teacher learns much about the child as he studies the pupil’s production, his oral and written
work, his art work, and his reading record. The teacher seeks to observe hobbies and interests as an
aid to motivation through understanding.

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